Welcome to Pairings

What Did It Take to Become America’s First Female Cabinet Member? The only woman in the room, and the only individual to serve in FDR’s cabinet for his entire term, arrived for her job interview on February 22, 1933 with a very ambitious list.

On This Day 90 Years Ago, the Biggest, Baddest, Blackest Dust Storm of Them All Struck the Texas Panhandle — and set the stage for the opening of my historical novel, Unspoken (A Dust Novel) ... on Black Sunday: April 14, 1935.

Nearly a century ago, the unthinkable happened: The U.S. was five years into the biggest ecological disaster we'd ever known.

These authors found inspiration in the hidden histories of accomplished women, whose achievements went untold.

When the fire broke out in a trash can on March 25, 1911, only one garment worker noticed. But soon the flames and smoke were inescapable.

UNSPOKEN shines a light on women driven apart by disaster who persevere, with themes of estrangement and upheaval that still resonate today.

Just when you get used to land, lots of land, and starry skies above, Texas shows you something else. Take a Panhandle road trip in photos.

Quitter's Day has come and gone, and with it, 80% of our 2025 New Year Resolutions. It's not too late for this smoother means to success.

When you’re researching historical fiction, it would be so much easier to rev up the Time Machine. Here's how I did without time travel.

The popularity of historical fiction with book clubs has soared. Read why in my conversation with historical author Janis Robinson Daly

Let's say you're not from Texas. (Cue Lyle Lovett) But you got here quick as you could. Now you want to learn how to be a Texan. Here's how.

Hitting the road is part of my creative process. And I never pass by a historical marker without braking.

A Trio of Pumps, Shamrock, Texas by Jann Alexander ©2015 It’s no secret that bad things come in threes. If you step off the sidewalk...

Scenic, South Dakota, 1980 by Jann Alexander © 2015 The boundaries were clear, to those who read the sign in Scenic, South Dakota in...

The Passing Train at Sunset by Jann Alexander ©2015 “It’s the journey, stupid.” —Variation on a 1992 campaign phrase attributed to James...

Broken is from a 1980 road trip I made across the U.S., and gives me a chance to pair my photo with my favorite quote from literature.

Rusty Hadacol by Jann Alexander ©2014 “Hadacol is a Dietary Supplement . . . formulated as an Aid to Nature in rebuilding the Pep,...

Chevy Symmetry by Jann Alexander ©2015 One Word for Wordless Wednesday: Symmetry How can you resist an old Chevy truck, one that’s...

Sick of seasonal colors?  Here’s some yellow. For eyes that can’t bear to look upon any more red and green, or blue and silver, until...

Shakespeare Speaks in Austin by Jann Alexander © 2014 Recent research indicates that Shakespeare spent his formative years in Austin,...